Latch



J. A. WHITTAKER.

LATCH. APPLICATION FILED we. :3. I92].

1 ,427,99 1. Patentedsept- 1922- l which I form a part of this specification.

Patented Sept. 5, 1922.

MNWEPWSTATES.

PATENT... oFFicE.

sci-L n a; wnrrrnxan, osnn'ritor'r, MICHIGAN;

- Application filed August 13;. iiaaigvseriai Ne ter-sees To all whom it may concern 1 Be it known that 1, JOHN A. WVHrr'riiKER,

citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, countyof Wayne State of Michigan; have inventedazcertainfnewand useful Improvement in- Latches, and. declare the following to be a full, clear, andnexact description oi the same,: such aswill enable others skilled in: the. art to which it pertains tomake'andxuse the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

- My invention. fGlZL-ti-ISzmtO door, latches shown In the accompanying. drawings and more particularly pointed out in the following specification and .claims. (One ob ect of the present invention is to provide a spring, actuated latch adapted to overcome or correct any tendency of "the door to sag. Another object of the invention is toprovide a construction adapted to force the door tightly against the .casing and to insure the door against rattling. p

'Another "object is to provide a latch of few parts simplein construction andoperation and inexpensive to'manuiacture.

In the drawings forming part of this specification Figure 1 is a cross sectional view through the latch and strike plate, attached respectively to an automobile door, and body of the vehicle ;showing a portion of the rack bar broken away to disclose the operating gear carried by the lock spindle.

Fi ure 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken on or about line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a similar vertical longitudinal sectional view taken on or about line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the strike plate attached to a fragment of the body.

Figure 5 is an end elevation of the latch showing the latch plate attached to a fragment of a door.

Referring now tothe letters ot reference placed upon the draw ngs:

EA}, indicates anautomobileidoor and B the .body or irame of the vehicle.

' I C, 'deno tes thej'body;ofthelatch and C the latch plate secured to: the door by screws Y 'D projectingthroughthelatch plate into the edge of the. door. 11,;indicates theflatch bolt provided with arearwardly projecting shank E; extending through a bracket F rigidly secured, to thewall of thelatch body. G, -denote'sa spring sleeved upon the shank between the shoulder E formedwby the rela- -tivelyv larger latch bolt and the bracket F secured toithelatch body. H, Hyare handles secured to a spindle or shank I, extending transversely through the door and body iofithefllock. LJ, denotes a gear mounted ugpon thespindle L meshing with a rackbar I provided at; its forward end with lateral 'extensionsK' K adapted to overlap a pair of spaced lugs E proj'ecting irom one side of theelatch' bolt The forwarder outer end of the latch bolt islbeveled in threedirectionsseeE E, E218, indicates a pass when the door is closed ;the roller rolling over the inclined portion E on the strike-jilplate,secured.to the frame or body of the vehiclein which is. j'ou'rnaled a roller 1Tedvervvhichthe-latch bolt is adapted to underside of the bolt forces the door upwardly. thus overcoming any tendency of the latter to sag. and U are vertically disposed rollers journaled in the strike plate at right angles to the roller T, against which the long beveled face E of the latch bolt is adapted to bear upon closing the door. The bolt Eisforced back by the rollers U and U against the action of thespring G when the door is closed, and upon the roll ers passing the apex between the inclined "faces 13' and E, oi the latch the roller U,

in'conjunction with the beveled portion E of the latch serves to assist in maintaining the door in a tightly closed position and thus overcomes any tendency of the latter torattle Having'thus described my invention what I claim is: 1. A latch for doors comprising a spring actuated bolt having its projecting end beveled on its lower horizontal face and in I opposite directionsto each other on its inner and outer side faces, a strike plate adapted to be secured to the door casing to receive the end of the'bolt,' a roller journaled horizontally in the strike plate, adapted to act upon the inclined lower face of the bolt to overcome any tendency f-the door to sag and a pair of rollers journaled vertically in the strike plate, adapted upon closing the door to force the bolt back against the action of its spring and when closed toactupon the outer face of the bolt to maintain the door in' a tightly closed positionand to reduce friction upon the operation of the bolt.

2. A. mortise latch for doors; comprising a bolt beveled atthe outer end on its lower horizontal and inner and outer vertical faces with a shank extending rearwardly from the enlarged end ofthebolt; a bracket secured to the latch casing 'having an opening to guide and support the shank; a spring adapted to bear against the enlarged end of the bolt and against the bracket to urge the bolt outwardly; lugs projecting from said bolt; a rack bar housed within the latch casing having means at one end: to engage the lugs on the bolt; a rockinghandle mounted upon a spindle extending transversely through the latch casing; a gear secured to the spindle adapted to mesh with the rack bar, whereby the bolt may bewithdrawn upon, operating the handle; a strike plate to receive the end of the latch; rollers journaled in the strike plate adapted to act upon theinclined faces of the bolt, whereby the bolt may be forced backwardly independently of the rack bar,-to secure the door against sagg1ng, -andto reduce friction upon the operation of'th'e bolt.-

3. A mortise latch for doorscomprising a a pair of: spaced v lugs integral with the bolt; arack-bar housed within, the latch casing havinglaterally extending arms at one end overlapping the lugs of the bolt; a spindle journaled in the walls of the latch casing; handles for manually rocking the spindle mounted upon the ends of said. spindle; a gear secured to the spindle in mesh with the rack-bar;v a strike-plate to receive the beveled end of the latch; a roller journaled horizontally in the wall of. the strilce-plate,

adapted to act upon; the lower inclined face of the bolt, to prevent sagging of the door and a pair of vertically disposed rollers journaled in the/strike plate in adjacent relation to each other, adapted uponv closing the door to force the bolt backwardly against the action of its spring and to reduce friction upon the operation of the bolt.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification in. the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN A. WHITTAKER.

lVitnesses-z S. E. THOMAS, Y JOHN Consmnvn. 

